For years, “child-proof” safety latches have been designed and used, primarily in households, to prevent access by young children to drawers and doors of cabinets that may store potentially harmful or dangerous items. Such safety latches are typically designed to be difficult for young children to operate, but may be easily operated by an adult.
Unfortunately, previous safety latches have experienced a variety of drawbacks. For example, in some cases installation and proper adjustment of the safety latches can be time-consuming and difficult especially in the confined cabinet spaces in which such safety latches are typically employed. Additionally, some existing safety latches can cause the cabinet surfaces on which the latch operates to become marred or damaged due to the manner in which the safety latch is secured to the cabinet. Further, some existing safety latches operate by allowing the door or drawer panel to be opened to a limited extent, in order to activate or deactivate the latch mechanism. With such safety latches, this slight opening of the cabinet door or drawer can result in babies and/or young children getting their fingers pinched between the door or drawer and the body of the cabinet. Still further, other existing safety latches may present cost problems, may be fairly complex to operate and/or may be prone to operation failure.